Individual factors as buffers against parental expressed emotion : a path-analytical model

Although Expressed Emotion (EE) predicts relapse in Psychiatric Populations' the mechanisms through which people may be affected by high EE remain unknown. Our Objective was to test a model hypothesizing that reaction of young adults to critical comments (CCs) and emotional acceptance and perceived frequency of CCs and EOI. Path-analytical model were tested for 68 normal young adults living with their parents. Well-fitting models were found for reactions to Parental CCs but not for reactions to EOI. Results show that parental criticisms have only an indirect effect on young adults' reaction to criticisms: the effect is mediated by individuals' perception of how frequently they are criticized. The models with mothers' and fathers' EOI explain a significant proportion of variance in young adults' reaction to EOI however, parental EO1 has neither a direct nor indirect effect on young adults' reaction to EOI